Oskaloosa, IA- Mt. Pleasant entered last night with just three wins on the season and wavering after a double-digit loss to Burlington last Friday, while #10 Oskaloosa was not only ranked but also took down Keokuk the night before, 63-61. Yet, in their biggest win in over two years, the Panthers pulled off the road upset in a 48-45 final.
It’s no secret that the strength of this Mt. Pleasant team centers around their height with the average height of their eight main players sitting at 6’3.5” tall, but it has been a task evolving this team from a three-point slinging squad to a pound-the-paint physical team.
The plan for Panther head coach Eric Rawson was simple, yet effective,
“…We executed our game plan as far as getting the ball inside and into the post. Noah [Lange] did a lot of work there in the first half and Isaiah [Lange] certainly came alive…”
The game did not start out in Mt. Pleasant’s favor as Tyler Edgar and Heavon Knox buried a couple of threes for Oskaloosa, streaking to an 8 to 1 lead before coach Rawson called a timeout to settle his team down. A Ryan Helling three-pointer and stiffer defense kept it close after a frame but with Oskaloosa hoarding a 12 to 7 lead.
Then the defense for Mt. Pleasant responded by holding Oskaloosa to just seven points in the second quarter, while Isaiah and Noah Lange combined for 13 points to give the Panthers a 25 to 19 lead at the halftime break. Oskaloosa was only being kept afloat by Knox, who had scored 12 of the team’s 19 points.
Even their leading scorer for the season, Tommy North, was held to just two points in the first half and four points in the game. Oskaloosa was constantly swarmed when driving the lane, resulting in five blocked shots.
“Yeah, we were great defensively” said coach Rawson. “You know, to hold that team to 19 points in the first half. Yeah, I just can’t. I’m just kind of at a loss for words right now. Just emotional game. Guys were locked in defensively and offensively… Yeah, just defensively, we were really locked in. It was great to see.”
Isaiah Lange took over for Mt. Pleasant in the third quarter, ushering in eight of the team’s 13 points for the quarter, while a pair of threes from Edgar and Knox kept Oskaloosa in the game, but down 38 to 31 entering the fourth quarter.
Neither team could find the bottom of the basket in the fourth quarter and the Panthers’ woes from the free throw line continued as they hit just 6 of 13 from the charity stripe for the night, putting them at 38 for 87 since coming back from winter break.
Nevertheless, Aiden Humble hit a key three early in the quarter when Oskaloosa tried to rally back, but the game appeared over when Helling knocked in his own triple with a little over 100 seconds remaining in the contest to give Mt. Pleasant an 11-point lead, 46 to 35.
The Panthers had been in similar situations the last two years and watched late leads slip away, while Oskaloosa had accumulated a 3-1 record on the season in games decided by three points or less. The game was far from over to say the least.
The run started with Edgar following his miss and slamming home a dunk to cut the lead nine, 46 to 37. Then the turnovers started. An overthrow on the inbounds pass led to a Landon Romas and-one to cut the lead to six, 46 to 40.
Cue Ethan Stek for Oskaloosa, as he ripped the ball away from Brody Clark and an Edgar three cut the once double-digit lead for Mt. Pleasant into a shaky possession advantage, 46 to 43, and only thirty seconds had evaporated from the clock.
A full timeout by coach Rawson gave his team a chance to catch their breaths and figure out how to best the Oskaloosa press. Unfortunately, for the third straight possession, the Panthers threw the ball away, Oskaloosa ball.
A second-chance bucket was given to North after a goaltending call against the over-zealous crew of shot blockers for the Panthers. Just like that it was a one-point game, 46-45 with less than a minute remaining.
In desperate need of senior leadership, Noah Lange stepped up and snuck away from his defender on the inbounds pass, found a streaking Grayson Lowery, who was fouled on the lay-up attempt. 33.5 seconds remaining in the game and Lowery goes splits his free throw attempts to give Mt. Pleasant the 47 to 45 lead.
No shot clock needed anymore and Oskaloosa, who has not had a winning season since 2018-19 when the won the state championship, was going to filibuster for the last shot. With a chance to win, North was given the ball at the top of the key with less than ten seconds left on the clock and much like the rest of the night it clanked off the rim. No good.
Isaiah Lange ripped down the board and converted one of his two free throws to give us the final score and a marquee win for Mt. Pleasant that was in desperate need of some confidence in close games.
“Yeah, I mean, it speaks volumes from where we started the year with a couple injuries and just guys new to the varsity level” mention coach Rawson after the game. “You know, getting adjusted to the speed of the game. You know, certainly our physicality tonight wore them out.”
Isaiah Lange led the way in scoring for the Panthers with 19 points followed by Noah Lange and Humble with eight points. Helling notched seven points with Keegan Heaton adding three points and a couple of blocks, while Lowery finished with two points.
Oskaloosa’s Knox had a career night with 19 points on his own.
The win moves Mt. Pleasant to 4-7 on the year, while Oskaloosa falls to 9-4 and having a difficult slate of games in front of them in the Little Hawkeye Conference.
The Panthers get ready for a show down in Fort Madison against the one-win Bloodhounds, who nearly defeated Fairfield to start the season and Burlington right before winter break. Coach Rawson knows that the Bloodhounds will be tougher than their record suggests,
“Yeah, I mean, we’ve got to stay focused and dialed in and certainly enjoy this one. But we’ve got to be ready to go. And, you know, playing Fort Madison down there is always tough. So, these guys understand that and looking forward to the challenge come Friday.”
KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call for the Southeast Conference doubleheader on Friday, January 23rd, with the pregame show at 5:45 pm and game one tipping-off at 6 pm.